


meet you, near me

by peterspajamas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baby Ben Braeden, Brothers, Castiel and Dean Winchester Falling in Love, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester are Siblings, Domestic, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Insecure Castiel (Supernatural), Kid Fic, Kid Jack Kline, Kissing, Like, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Parent Castiel (Supernatural), Religious Guilt, Single Parent Castiel (Supernatural), Single Parent Dean Winchester, Tumblr Prompt, absolutely NO detail, but it's how it ends, im so !!!, kissing scene (1), like they are a pair of fathers, literally just fluff, not exactly, some - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterspajamas/pseuds/peterspajamas
Summary: There is a man. Running through the park. Shirtless.Dean and Cas, the first year they meet.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 17
Kudos: 94





	meet you, near me

**Author's Note:**

> references to Cas's horrible family and their estrangedness  
> Dean drinks some alcohol but it's not at all in a way that is dependent, he's just havin' fun  
> anyway it's domestic trash

He was pushing a baby. Castiel stopped short, blinking slightly. The mother he was speaking with, her voice faded out. His jaw was _dropped_. He was pushing a baby. With no shirt on. That man was shirtlessly- he was- his little stroller- 

“You look like you are going to faint,” Anna commented placidly. Castiel ignored her, cocking his head and slowly following the lines of muscle down the man’s body. 

“I am feeling very tempted, Anna,” he whispered slowly. She broke into laughter, pushing his arm. 

“Is he running?” she asked. Castiel took another long, appreciative look. He had a single tattoo on his left pec and a very defined set of ab muscles. 

“Why else would be be so sweaty- _oh_ ,” Castiel gasped, on the edge of his seat. The man was now pouring water over his head. “I am very interested.”

“Go talk to him?” Anna asked. 

Castiel was skeptical. “Do you... _see_ the differences?” he asked. 

Anna used a critical eye. “I mean, you look like you’ve gotten off work. I wouldn’t say it’s bad at all. You’re... charming, you know, and you look sweet. Approachable.” 

Castiel sighed. “That means nothing, Anna. Approachable is just another word for boring.” He drooped, refocusing back on the playground no matter how badly he wanted to keep staring. The man would have noticed soon, anyway, that Castiel was infatuated with his gorgeous, tanned body. 

Jack was out on the playground, causing some sort of ruckus. Oh, no, never mind. Not a ruckus, just screaming his way down the slide. He was an excitable child. Castiel had supposedly been like that, he thought bitterly, until his mother had _taken care of it_. Like she took care of everything. And now he was freakishly calm, to hear other people tell it. “Buck up?” 

“I will not ‘buck up,’ as I am not a horse,” he said witheringly. Anna stared at him. Past him. He scowled; she raised her eyebrows. 

What was- “Can I sit here?” It was the man. The _man._

Holy shit. Castiel’s palms were sweating. “It would be no trouble,” he said warmly. Miraculously, his voice didn’t sound squeaky. Maybe husky, a little too deep, when it was already a low baritone. 

The man met his eyes. The sun was out and though he had to put a hand up to block it, he caught a glimpse of sparkling green. “Your baby is so cute,” Anna cooed. _She_ wasn’t distracted by the green eyes, the sweaty, shirtless package. 

“Yeah?” The man beamed. “Ben’s a sweetheart. A very good baby.” 

“I have a son of my own.” Why did Castiel say that? It was awkward and did not fit in with the rest of the conversation- well, then of course he had said it, Castiel seemed to take every available opportunity to trod all over manners and the like. Ugh. 

“He out here today? Dean, by the way,” _Dean_ said offhand, looking over the playground. _Dean_. That was a beautiful name. 

“I am Castiel.” Was his voice still too deep? He looked over at Anna, slightly worried. She had a certain look about her, as if she was fascinated by an animal in the wild. He scowled at her, frown lines deepening. 

“Nice name, _Castiel_.” Dean- he held Castiel’s gaze for a minute. His eyes were very alive. Even passionate. Castiel wrote poetry, at times, mostly biblical before he left his family, and Dean’s face and eyes were the kind that would inspire. 

“It’s an angel. Castiel.” 

Dean gazed into his eyes again. “I’ll bet.” And Castiel- he flushed, embarrassingly, as he tried to get his brain under control. Dean was shirtless. Shirtless. Oh _God_.

Dean took a seat next to him. Castiel was not paying attention to his thighs touching the outer seam of the slacks he had put on in the morning, he was not paying attention to it, he was not, not even to the way they moved as Dean bent down to tie his shoes, how his thighs rubbed against Castiel’s pants, probably leaving a pesky- sweat imprint, or something, these were his best pants.

“Aww. He’s asleep,” Anna whispered. Castiel jerked his head towards the baby, face softening. 

“Oh, I remember when ours were that little,” he said, voice hushed. “You’re going to miss it,” he told Dean.

“I’m not going to miss all the thirsty single moms,” Dean said dryly. Castiel shifted uncomfortably. He was not that kind of person, to be thirsty, no matter how- how _sinful_ his mother his mother had repeated, over and over. 

“Ah. I don’t think I’ve gotten one of those thirsty mothers,” Castiel mused. Dean reached over his head, bicep _flexing_ , and pushed the sunshade on the stroller down further. 

Anna snorted, laughing. “Are you kidding?” 

Castiel cocked his head. “Not at all, Anna.” 

Anna rolled her eyes. “This guy is all the rage at the preschool. My God, you get propositioned once a week!”

Dean burst into laughter. “Yeah, I’ll bet.” He put a hand on Castiel’s knee, squeezing. “If you guys want to be alone-”

“We aren’t here as a couple, we’re here to make friends and talk shit about other parents. You’re more than welcome to join,” she said with a self assured smile. 

Castiel admired Anna greatly. She had been a guide, for him, after Jack had been born and his life began to fall apart, guiding him out of the dark days of brand new parenthood, when his house kept the curtains shut and his parents didn’t answer his calls. Anna had taught him to stop calling. Also to change diapers in less than a minute. 

He had needed that. “Well, they see us single dads and we’re like candy, you know,” he explained. Castiel huffed. As if he didn’t know. 

“I am. Aware.” 

“Lighten up, Cas! Is he always like this?” 

Anna covered a smile with her hand. “Not when Jack is around.” 

“Your son?” Dean positively beamed. “How old is he?” 

“Four. Five in a month.” 

Dean looked out, squinting. “Ben is five months. It’s funny, you know, my brother? He’s 23, in law school and everything, we’re very proud-” He waved a hand, as if pride was nothing. Castiel’s parents had never once been proud of him. “He comes over every other week and every single time, he obsesses over how much Ben has grown.”

“Ah. Jack’s godfather is the same way. I am very appreciative of his enthusiasm.” Dean smiled at Castiel and again, he flushed. 

“You’re a cool one, Cas,” he proclaimed, patting his back. Cas. Were they at nicknames already? 

“Thank you?” 

“No problem, man!” Dean bounced to his feet, the balls of his trainers hitting the ground like a smack. Again, Castiel’s eyes were drawn unerringly to the sweat dripping off of his back, the wet hair on his head, and abs that felt drawn on. 

Anna smiled again, at the baby. Castiel followed suit, forcing his eyes away from the obscene sin that a single muscle on Dean’s chest was. It was a very happy baby. “He’s friendly, isn’t he?” Castiel asked, voice husky. 

“Yeah, if he wakes up, just leave him, he’ll get back to bed on his own. I’m going to get a drink of water.” 

The second Dean was out of earshot, Anna turned to him. “He’s interested in you,” she said, point blank. Castiel sputtered. “Do you see the way he looks at you? He thinks you’re cute at the _very_ least and I can count multiple times where he has shivered at the sound of your voice.” 

Castiel shook his head. “Preposterous,” he told her confidently. 

Anna rolled her eyes. “It is not. Have you seen yourself today?” She hesitated, and he had no doubt that her next words were going to be highly inappropriate- “You look like you’ve just been fucked.” 

He slowly closed his eyes. “Anna.” 

“Cas.” What, had she picked up the nickname, too? Irritation was plain on his face. 

“Anna,” he said again, voice a low growl.

She smirked. “Hey, anyone ever tell you that your voice is really hot?” Dean said. He was- effortlessly suave. Castiel shook his head mutely. “You do.” 

Castiel swallowed. “Thank you,” he managed to say roughly. Dean’s face changed for just a second, friendly and easygoing to something different. Castiel would not be able to say what it was, but he knew his mother would deem it sinful. 

He wanted her voice out of his head, so he opted to smile back. “I’m going to the library after I’m finished here,” Anna told them. “Do either of you want to come with?” 

Dean shrugged. “My run is over. Do you mean the one on Elm?” Anna nodded with a friendly smile. _Too_ friendly. Had she really spent all that time stroking Castiel’s nonexistent ego only to turn on it the next moment and flirt for herself? 

Wait. Wait, was he _jealous_? No. Of course not, it was purely- he liked the shape of his chest. And his smile. He’d do a lot to get that grin again. “Jack!” 

Jack and Claire bounced on over, a pair of eager toddlers. “In case I forget-” 

Dean touched his forearm and Castiel peered over. “What?”

“Here’s my number,” Dean said, tongue darting out to lick his lips. His abnormally pretty eyelashes blinked over the green eyes. Cas took the number. 

....

\-----------------

....

First, it was a couple texts here and there, and then Dean was coming over to make Castiel and Jack burgers. Castiel easily went with these things. Even more insane, like out of a movie, Dean began to call him some nights, asking for baby advice or just to- to talk. Just to talk. 

He remembered almost everything about those first three months, a sponge dripping with memories, perfect ones. Another sunny afternoon at the park. Jack got Dean to chase him around, some ridiculous game of tag. Dean got him a very thoughtful gift for his birthday. A new coat. Like stars, the memories glowed. 

Dean’s favorite color was meant to be green but it was actually purple, he liked crushing Castiel at strategy board games. Castiel was content to go by Cas. Jack was with Anna and Claire on a sleepover. Ben was with his mother. 

Castiel was not expecting the knock, not at midnight on Halloween night. He sighed in exasperation, grabbing the nearly empty bowl of candy. “Happy Halloween.” Dean grinned at him, in a Han Solo- or was it Indiana Jones?- outfit. 

Castiel raised his eyebrows. “What are you doing here?” He wouldn’t admit to himself how handsome Dean was. 

“Ah, just bored. Want to watch a horror movie?” He walked right in. Castiel didn’t even mind. 

“Which one?” 

Dean patted him on the shoulder. “Ah, your choice, Cas.” 

Castiel inspected his fingers. “I think you are the expert.” A slow smile spread on Dean’s face and he exaggeratedly raised his eyebrows. 

“You know,” he drawled. Was he intoxicated? “I think you’re a pretty cool guy.” He was a sweet parody of the sloppy drunk. 

“Thank you very much.” Castiel glowed from the inside. Even if it was typical Dean-being-affectionate, he did crave the satisfaction of compliments. Without prompting, said affectionate man reachd out to ruffle his hands in Cas’s hair. 

Castiel blinked owlishly. “Let’s watch a Hallmark movie,” Dean announced, stumbling into the living room. “I’ll get it started!” 

“I’ll get the popcorn.” Cas liked his sweet, but Dean always begged for extra buttery. Both kinds went into bowls, plus a large glass of water to help him sober up. 

They settled into the couch. Feeling their thighs touch was just as electrifying as it was all those months ago. It was incredible. Castiel had never felt this way about someone before. Dean’s head tipped onto Castiel’s shoulder, hair brushing his neck. 

The movie started. Cas chewed his way through a bowl of popcorn, eyes getting heavier and heavier.

........

They both woke up at the same time, when the news played the noise of a wailing siren. Castiel wrinkled his nose, enjoying the warm body next to him. The body that was _Dean_ , that was Dean behind him, stretching like a slippery fish. Dean. Winchester. Cas turned off the TV. 

The room was silent and lit by the soft glow of the lamps he stationed around the room. Cas backed off of Dean, but a warm hand held him by the forearm. With a quiet gasp of breath, Castiel turned around. Dean swallowed. “What time is it?” 

“3:00,” Cas whispered. 

Their lips crashed together. Dean seemed to just eat him up, and Cas was swallowed under the passion. “Oh my God.” 

“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain,” Cas immediately replied. 

Dean laughed. “You do not care.” He didn’t. “I- uh.” 

Cas leaned in and kissed him softly, this time. The first one was unrelenting passion but this one spoke to who they were- they went to the grocery store together and picked out cake mix, Cas made Ben smile, Jack hugged Dean when he came over. As if they were a family. Or something. 

Yes, the kiss was sweet. 

....

\-----------------

....

Dean’s kisses were candy. Cas kissed him everywhere. At the grocery store, and inside of Dean’s classic car, at the park, chastely. Dean’s first overnight stay was a sleepover because Jack wanted to learn to play soccer. Four year olds did more frantic kicking than strategy but it was enjoyable nontheless. 

Castiel had been married, once. He’d had that single relationship with a woman. He had had none with a man. Castiel was never the conventional father figure, and if you looked close, neither was Dean, who played Superman. Early breakfast, goodnight stories, _and_ the mowed lawn, the football in the yard, classic car. SuperDad. Castiel always wondered why. 

He met Dean’s brother on a Tuesday. Sam Wincheser was... a revelation. It explained nearly everything. He was like a younger, taller, and nerdier version of Dean. Castiel was tempted to spend the entire day with him and his current girlfriend. 

“I am highly skeptical of her,” Dean whispered. Cas eyed Ruby, cocking his head. She did seem rather manipulative. An uncomfortable look passed Sam’s face when she crawled into his lap. 

“I agree.” 

Dean nodded. _Good_ , he seemed to say, _we’re on the same page_. “Jack! Hey, buddy!” Jack leapt into Dean’s arms, squirming to a stop with his head on Dean’s shoulder. 

“Daddy, are we havn burgers?” he asked, sticking his thumb in his mouth. Dean nodded in confirmation. 

“Yup. That’s right, kiddo.” 

“Dean made them from scratch,” Castiel informed him, reaching out to brush a lock of blonde hair out of Jack’s face. 

“Uh- Ruby and I-”

Ruby smiled impishly. “We’re going to go now, goodbye!” 

Dean blinked in shock. “Ben’s up from his nap in five minutes. And you were going to have my burgers!” Sam smiled in apology. 

“Castiel, it was really- _really_ \- nice to meet you, man. I’ll call you tonight, Dean?” 

Dean nodded, anger on his face. Sam backed away, scratching his head. “Bye, Sammy.” Guilt flashed on his face. 

“Bye.” 

After that, Dean stormed away, holding Ben for half an hour. Cas let Jack run around the yard, sitting and chewing on the idea of it all. Dean had been very, very disappointed when his brother left for college. He’d had dreams of something else. Dean was very interested in domestication. 

For all of his leather jackets and muscle cars and cocky smiles, Castiel had identified him as happiest when he was with one of their- one of either of their children, or when he was acting like the boyfriends he scoffed at onscreen. Attentive and caring. It must hurt, an awful lot, to see such a plain rejection from his first and most important family. Dean probably saw it as a rejection. Castiel was more perceptive than that, so he could see: Sam had a girl and he was young and in love. Making bad decisions. 

“Daddy?” Jack cocked his head. 

“Yes, Jack?” Jack crawled onto his lap, hanging off of it. 

“I think Sam is really fun.” Cas nodded. 

“I agree.” Jack beamed. He loved being “right.” “Did you like when he pushed you on the swings?” Jack nodded in agreement, snuggling up on Cas’s lap. 

They sat there, Jack beginning to snore softly, for no more than an hour. Castiel came to a conclusion, in the meantime: 

He was going to ask Sam. For his blessing. 

....

\---------------

....

“Hello?” Castiel knocked on the door. He straightened the lapels of his trench coat, nervously tugging on a pesky lock of hair that refused to cooperate with his... admittedly sad attempts to style it. 

“Huh?” The door swung open to Sam Winchester’s face. “Uh, Castiel, right?” 

“That is right.” It didn’t make him feel very confident, knowing that Sam was operating on confusion and skepticism. He didn’t even know Castiel’s name. “I’m Castiel Novak,” he added, to be sure Sam remembered. _I’ve been dating your brother for six months and my son has been asking if Dean is his second father. I’m approaching the one year anniversary of our meeting and I want to ask-_

“What are you... uh, here for? I mean, sit down, of course.” Castiel nodded, taking a seat on one of the beaten up couches. It looked like it had been taken from the side of a road. Not unlike much of Dean’s house. Parts of it were clearly influenced by Lisa Braeden or Dean’s admittedly sweet (secret) obsession with Pottery Barn, but the majority was beat up and slightly grimy. 

It was the alleged reason that Dean spent most of his weeknights at Castiel’s house. Enough that they’d turned the spare bedroom into a nursery for Ben. Castiel shook his head, trying to refocus on what was actually important: Sam’s approval. “How are you, Sam?” 

Sam laughed awkwardly. “My girlfriend just broke up with me, so... not good. I guess.” Cas nodded knowingly. 

“I’m sorry for arriving unannounced, I don’t have the number for your cellular phone.” Sam raised his eyebrows. 

“Yeah, no, it’s fine. Is- Dean’s alright, isn’t he?” His eyes were wide suddenly scared. “Right?” 

“Dean is perfectly fine.” Castiel delicately wrinkled his nose. “Working on Baby. Again.” Sam relaxed. 

“So he’s just like normal, isn’t he?” he chuckled, breathing deep. 

“I would say he’s feeling a good deal more nostalgic than usual,” Castiel chuckled. “But yes, in good health.” 

Sam frowned. “Did you need something.” 

Cas scratched his head. “Yes?” God, the house was really just- he wanted to tidy it all. “How long do you think Dean and I have been serious?” 

“I don’t know, I’m not his keeper...” Sam looked slightly ashamed. “I’ve only met you once, you know? He told me about you but I barely knew what you looked like... are you having problems with him?” The alarm at the idea of having to counsel his brother through a crisis was matched only by the momentary seething rage at the thought someone hurt Dean. 

“The opposite.” Castiel took a deep breath. “I want to marry him. I know he cares for you a great deal... I wanted your blessing.” 

Sam blinked. “Oh. Go right ahead, are you ring shopping? He’ll say he doesn’t want some girly fancy shit, but-” 

“He wants diamonds,” they said simultaneously. Sam chuckled. “I know,” Castiel said. “I’ve been thinking over it. A lot.” 

Sam suddenly beamed. “You should do it on the summer solstice!” 

“There’s meant to be a Shakespeare in the park then...” Cas muttered. That would be nice. “Do you want to come ring shopping?” He met eyes with Sam, staring intently. 

“Sure?” 

Jack lost it when he saw the ring: sterling silver with tiny little diamond surrounding the band. 

Dean was going to say yes. They were going to get married. 

**Author's Note:**

> comment if u like!! it would mean. a lot


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